Networking between computer systems has become an integral part of computing technology. Computer systems are connected to each other through a network such as a LAN to enable communication and sharing of information between users of the different computer systems. An Internet connection often further complements the network, providing access to vast amounts of data. As networking technology becomes more inexpensive and less difficult to manage, home networks connecting multiple personal computers (PCs) are increasing in popularity. Multiple users of a home network use the network to, say, play video games against each other or to share a printer or Internet connection over the home network.
Advancements in computer technology (both in hardware and software) allow a PC in a home network to have numerous multimedia capabilities, such as playing music or displaying video. With an Internet connection, the PC has the capability to bring additional multimedia information to a user. While PCs have significantly increased capability to deliver multimedia entertainment, large consumer electronic (CE) devices such as televisions (TVs), stereos, or DVD players still, however, often remain the center of the entertainment experience in most households.
Manufacturers and software vendors have begun to address the integration of home networks, multimedia PCs, and CE devices. These manufacturers and vendors have developed protocols and standards that allow for interoperability between PCs and CE devices so that, for example, PCs may manage or distribute multimedia content between multiple CE devices using the home network. Increased usage of home networks for multimedia entertainment, however, will require continued improvement of the integration between the different systems as well as improvement of the overall user experience (including both desirability of features and ease of use).